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Tuesday, July 29, 2008

REFLECTIONS ON VIETNAM

What follows below is not normal Oread Daily fare. Instead you will find some reflections made by a friend of mine, Lowell Wiley, on his travels through Vietnam earlier this year. I found them interesting and I hope the same is true for you.

I will be posting more of these in future days.

PS: The titles are mine...

VIETNAM: TODAY AND YESTERDAY

February 22, 2008

Hello from Phnom Penh. I've spent the last couple of days here withZeb Romine. He's been traveling sort of the reverse of my route.It's been fun to share a room, see the local sights, have some nicemeals, and talk talk talk. Tomorrow we head off in directions, he toVietnam while I take another boat up to Siem Reap and Angkor Wat.Phnom Penh has been the ideal place to kick back with such variedlocal sights as the horrific killing fields and S-21 school-tortureprison leavened with the breathtaking beauty of the royal palacecomplex. The weather is warm with a constant breeze off the river.Terrific.

Vietnam continued to provide very thought provoking experiences. Ienjoyed Hue very much. I knew the old imperial city had been heavilydamaged during the Tet offensive exactly forty years ago. I rememberso well the CBS film taken from the Viet Cong positions in the oldcity firing on our troops. The Tet offensive was the turning point ofthe war. When all the "secure" cities in South Vietnam came undersimultaneous attack by the VC, most Americans realized that theVietnam War was not only nowhere close to being ended, but evenfurther from being won. It made me wonder just what other surprisesare in store for us in Iraq. The shock might not as great to wake upone morning with the enemy in our embassy in Baghdad as when ithappened in Saigon. Saigon was thought to be far more secure thanBaghdad. It makes me hope Osama hasn't been reading General Giap'sbook. Parenthetically, General Giap is still alive in Hanoi. I sawhis house. He was the head of Ho's army against the Japanese, theFrench, and the Americans.

Just prior to the Tet offensive, the five thousand marines in Khe Sanhcame under a terrific attack. President Johnson fear we were veryclose to having another Dien Bien Phu. General Giap had planned thisas a diversion and sprung the Tet offensive a couple of weeks laterwhile most of the American attention was focused on saving Khe Sanh.Again I remember the Marines lying in the red mud while being poundedby enemy artillery. The film sequences of the C130s landing withshells bursting all around them are forever seared in my memory.Walking around Khe Sanh today it difficult to imagine those times evenwith a small museum, bunkers, tanks, and both Huey and Chinookhelicopters parked around. The airstrip itself was steel having nowbeen disassembled by the local farmers and put to various domesticuses. The airstrip itself is just a red strip of dirt wandered overby a few cows and chickens. I think it took more than two months forthe Cav to finally break through and relieve the marines. Not longafterward the whole place was abandoned and the troops moved furtherSouth. The Vietnam War was like that. Five hundred Marines diedthere to protect a place that was completely abandoned a few monthslater. I took a complete DMZ tour in addition to Khe Sanh. Thisincluded the famous "rock pile"", the Ho Chi Menh trail, a couple ofold fire bases and the DMZ itself on both sides. I also climbedthrough a whole complex of VC tunnels. All of this has far moremeaning to countrymen of my generation.

February 27, 2008

I'm now in Siem Reap, Cambodia. I intended to add a few more linesbefore I let this go but it's already too long.

I really enjoyed Hue. In addition to the war sites mentioned above, Ialso visited the wonderful forbidden city, the Nguyen Dynasty Tombs,and did a short Perfume river cruise. I zoomed on past Danang andChina Beach to Hoi An. This colonial and pre-colonial port is now aWorld Heritage Site. The river silted up enough to protect its oldbuildings. It's a comely laid back place I enjoyed although manypeople choose it as their favorite place in Viet Nam. I back trackedto the Marble Mountains and bussed out to My Son which is what's leftof the Cham civilization famous for sacking Angkor Wat. I had no ideathere was an ancient Hindu kingdom that lasted centuries in Viet Nam.

Next came some beach time in Nha Trang. Very nice. Then some morehill town cool in Dalat before arriving in Ho Chi Mihn City whicheverybody still calls Saigon. Just to give you an idea of today'sSaigon... one of the tallest buildings belongs to the PrudentialInsurance Company. Three million motor bikes swirl through the citymaking everything seem a blur. Grabbing a quick ride on a motor bikehas been my main short ride transportation on this trip. It's beenscary but no wrecks so far although I've witnessed at least ten.Several days in town let me visit all the usual tourist sitesincluding the Reunification (Presidential) Palace which is preservedjust as it was when South Vietnam fell. I also remember another WarMuseum although I saw enough in Vietnam that they all now kind of melttogether in my memory.

Leaving Saigon I spent three days in the Mekong Delta boating aroundand seeing how the delta people live. It's so different from the restof the country. From the border I took a boat up the Mekong to PhnomPenh. Whew.

Sorry this is so long and boring. I'll try to do Cambodia while it'sstill fresher and I can tell you more what I'm really enjoying aboutthe trip rather than simply listing where I've been.Angkor, for example, is one of the most interesting and beautifulruins I've ever seen and I've been lucky enough to see a heap.Enough. My best to everyone.